~ Start of Chapter 1 ~
Overview
This chapter describes the tense situation in the battlefield, where Pandavas and Kauravas are poised to fight each other. Arjun realizes that he is about to fight his friends and family members and becomes confused whether he should kill his own family members for the sake of winning a fight!
Translation/Summaries of the verses
1.1 Dhratrashtra, father of Kauravas, who is blind and cannot see the fight of Mahabharata directly, asks Sanjay about what is happening in the battlefield of Kurukshetra*.
1.2 - 1.6 Sanjay describes the strength of the Pandavas by naming the strong warriors on their side.
1.7 - 1.11 He continues further, saying that Kaurava's side is also very strong, including many great warriors and protected by Bhishma.
1.12 - 1.19 Different warriors show their strength in the field by loudly blowing their conchshells, trumpets etc.
1.20 - 1.30 Arjun (one of the Pandavas) looks around the field and finds that the many in the side of Kauravas that he is going to fight are actually his friends and relatives. He becomes disheartened, confused, feeling weak and seeks guidance from Krishna (his charioteer and advisor).
1.31 - 1.37 Arjun asks Krishna: What good is it to win the fight and kingdom if he has to kill so many of his relatives. He would not like to kill them for even the whole universe. Even though Kauravas are blinded by greed and are ready kill Pandavas, he does not want to kill his own kinsmen (Kauravas).
1.38 - 1.47 Arjun continues: By destroying the whole family, the family virtues and traditions will be destroyed resulting in corrupt progenies. He does not want to commit this heinous sin and go to hell*, and would rather preferred to be killed by the Kauravas. With that, he drops his bow and sits down.
~ End of Chapter 1 ~
Notes
* Many scholars say Kurukshetra refers to human body where the good (Pandava) and the evil (Kaurava) forces (or emotions) are fighting each other. I don't think this analogy is intended in the original text. Instead, the first chapter is just describing the actual situation in the battlefield, which sets the stage for the ensuing dialogue between Arjun and Krishna described in the subsequent chapters.
* See post on Heaven and Hell for a discussion on this term.
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